Cadet
"Sir! Yes, sir! Right away, sir!" Basic (SoE) Cadets are officers-in-training. They may attend formal schools like the Aquila Academies or they may receive direct tutelage from officers in the field. Although cadets do learn to fight, the focus of their training is leadership. Some come from noble families, but this is by no means a given. Those who earned a place with battlefield exploits are more respected because they have lived war, not just read about it in books. Note: If you are rolling randomly for your Starting Career, you can substitute Cadet for Soldier or Student with your GM’s permission. Main Profile Secondary Profile Skills: Academic Knowledge (Strategy/Tactics), Command, Common Knowledge (Bretonnia, the Empire, or Tilea), Perception, Read/Write, Ride, Secret Language (Battle Tongue), Speak Language (Classical), Speak Language (Breton, Reikspiel, or Tilean) Talents: Disarm, Savvy or Warrior Born, Specialist Weapon Group (Fencing) Trappings: Foil or Rapier, Light Armour (Full Leather Armour), Shield, Uniform (Cadet) Career Entries Estalian Diestro, Mercenary, Militiaman, Noble, Roadwarden, Soldier, Squire, Student Career Exits Herald, Mercenary, Pistolier, Sergeant, Squire, Student Cadet Training Early each morning a bugle summons the cadets from their barracks for a bout of vigorous exercise around the parade ground. They must then don their uniform and rank up for inspection before they are allowed breakfast. The rest of the morning is occupied by classes, where topics such as the history of warfare, battle tactics and the theory of command are studied, usually taught by officers retired due to injury. The head tutor, known as the Commandent, is often a high-ranking officer, the veteran of many battles. Another formation drill precedes lunch, and the afternoon involves more classes to sharpen the mind, followed by rigorous athletic activity and weapon practice to strengthen the body. The cadets are inspected a final time before supper, and evening is reserved for personal study, until lights out at midnight. During important festivals, such as Year Blessing, the evenings involve a formal meal in full dress uniform. The cadets’ lives are strictly regulated, and discipline is severe, instilling in them a healthy respect for order. Even on Festag, the week’s holiday, the college’s priest of Sigmar or Myrmidia lectures the cadets on moral fibre. A cadet spends three years at college. During the summer month of Nachgeheim, cadets are attached to a regiment. If a cadet is lucky, the regiment will be at war, but experiencing army life firsthand in peacetime is also invaluable to his military education. Many officers find cadets a nuisance and give them ridiculous orders to keep them out of the way, or otherwise amuse themselves playing cruel pranks on them. During their final year at college, cadets must study hard to pass their exams. Those that make the grade are commissioned as an officer of the Imperial army and leave the school to join a regiment, an occasion marked with riotous celebrations. Cadet Schools One of the most renowned cadet schools in Reiksland is the Diesdorf Military College, founded by Emperor Wilhelm III in 2440. The Imperial treasury funds the school, so entry is not reserved for the wealthy. The college attracts men already serving in the military whose talents for leadership have not gone unnoticed. Entry requires only a recommendation from a superior. The yearly intake of 180 cadets is divided into companies of 60, commanded by a major, each further divided into platoons of 20, commanded by a captain. Platoons are named after a famous battle: Black Fire Pass, Blood Gorge, Hel Fenn, Nebelheim, Swartzhafen, Maustadt, Wolfenberg, Howling Hills and Grim Moor. The college’s Commandent is Captain Theocritus von Hayek, an old soldier retired from the army of Nordland after he lost his right arm to a Norscan’s axe. He runs the place with the same fierce discipline with which he commanded his troops, and expects his students to graduate as the epitome of the officer class: loyal, selfless and bound by honour. His school has certainly been successful in this regard; among its alumni are many highly decorated Imperial officers.